Idaho helped pursue company whose mortgage practices hurt homeowners

More than 200 people in Idaho who borrowed money to buy homes will benefit from a combined $112,590 from a settlement with New Jersey-based mortgage company PHH Mortgage Corp.

Idaho and almost every other state had accused PHH of “premature and unauthorized foreclosures, violation of homeowners’ rights and protections, and the use of false and deceptive affidavits and other documents” throughout the years of 2009 to 2012.

The states and PHH reached a $45 million settlement to resolve those claims. About $30 million will go to borrowers, and the rest will go to state attorneys general and state mortgage regulators. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced the settlement Wednesday.

PHH “does not admit any wrongdoing, allegations or implications of fact and does not admit any violations of applicable laws, regulations or rules,” the settlement says.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for unlimited digital access to our website, apps, the digital newspaper and more.

The settlement requires PHH to follow mortgage servicing standards, conduct audits and provide the audit results to a committee of states, Wasden said.

In Idaho, 94 borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure will each receive at least $840 from the settlement, Wasden said. Another 118 borrowers who faced foreclosure but kept their homes will receive at least $285 each.

Wasden said eligible borrowers will be contacted by a settlement administrator.